So Many Beginnings: A Little Women Remix

So Many Beginnings: A Little Women Remix by Bethany C. Morrow 304 pages

I wasn’t sure what to expect when I requested this book from Bookishfirst.com. Like most everyone else in the world, I adored Louisa May Alcott’s “Little Women” and was excited to see what author Morrow would do with it.  Well, the cover gives part of it away, but, still, I was curious as so what Morrow would do with the story.

The timeframe was consistent, the American Civil War (1863-1866). But instead of a poor Northern family with their father serving as a chaplain in the Union Army, the March family is living in North Carolina in the Freedpeople’s Colony of Roanoke Island. As a history nerd, I was confused. Every time I read Roanoke, I immediately thought of the attempt by the English to establish a colony on the island in 1587. I had no idea that after the English settlers disappeared, the island became a haven for freedpeople of color. Some background would have been nice, but the story structure really didn't lend itself to a backstory of this nature.

Another thing that confused, and somewhat irritated me, was the title the sisters used to refer to their mother. In the Alcott version, it was Marmee, but in this version, it was Mammy. The first time I read it I was offended, but then quickly realized the timeframe of the story. However, the etymology of “Mammy” is “black woman having the care of white children.” That didn’t fit the story to me at all, but in hindsight, maybe that was what Mammy did before they escaped to the Freedpeople’s Colony, but it’s unclear to me.

The girls seemed both different and alike to Alcott’s version. However, there was something about them that didn’t allow me to care much about them. There was a lack of tension throughout the book, no compelling reason to turn the page---and that is what prompts me to say that “So Many Beginnings: ‘A Little Women Remix’” receives 1 out of 5 stars in Julie’s world. 

 

Count Bohemond

Count Bohemond by Alfred Duggan, 281 pages

Eldest son of the Norman adventurer who conquered Apulia, Bohemond, Count of Taranto, is the "mightiest of the mighty Hautevilles", a physical giant whose strength is matched only by his ambition.  While his father's title may have fallen to a more politic half-brother, Bohemond dreams of the riches and recognizes the vulnerability of the emperor in Constantinople.  Yet when the Pope calls the knights of Christendom to come to the aid of that emperor and to fight for the Holy Sepulchre, Bohemond eagerly joins the Crusade.  In his pursuit of victory and glory, however, his fellow Crusaders and their Greek allies soon prove nearly as great an obstacle as the Turks.

Count Bohemond is not a particularly deep book, but it is a well-written, solid entry into the genre of historical biographical novels suitable for teenage boys that is exemplified by I, Claudius.  An excellent introduction to the complexities of the First Crusade packaged within a dramatic narrative.

Saving Washington

Saving Washington: The Forgotten Story of the Maryland 400 and The Battle of Brooklyn  by Chris Formant  320 pages

I was attracted to this fragment of forgotten history because of the first line on the dust jacket: “Somewhere deep beneath the bustling streets of Brooklyn, New York, lie the remains of perhaps the most important citizen soldiers in American history; the heroic men from Baltimore, Maryland, who held back superior British forces long enough to preserve the Continental Army and save the life of General George Washington.” After reading it, I expected a story about finding the graves, how they were exhumed and relocated to a place of honor. This is not that story.

The time is 1776. Baltimore teenager Joshua Bolton and his BFF, Ben Wright, watch as the British Army does its best to make the American Colonists’ lives so hard that they would give up that idiotic notion of independence and return to a civilized way of life. As the boys watched the tyranny, they knew that they had to do something. When the call went out for new recruits for the 1^st Maryland Regiment, they boys enlisted.

I know this is historical/biographical fiction, but I was surprised that a black man, even a freed man, was allowed to join the fight.  I need to brush up on this aspect of American history, obviously.

The story illustrates the hardships of the citizen-soldiers, and what they were up against. At first I was surprised that Josh and Ben were teenagers, but then again, I’m not sure we really know how many young adults fought alongside their adult counterparts. A lot I imagine.

The language of the book makes it obvious early on that it is written for young adults. On the downside, I didn’t feel the tension of the situations that the boys got themselves into until the Battle of Brooklyn was underway. I never felt that they were in any real danger.  But that’s the point of view of a middle-age female.

I think young adult readers will enjoy this book. I like that it tells a tale of forgotten heroes, that we all need to know more about.

“Saving Washington: The Forgotten Story of the Maryland 400 and The Battle of Brooklyn” receives 4 out of 5 stars in Julie’s world.